2 posts in one day. Crazy I know, but cool stuff not related to the other happenings happened and needed their own special post. So today we were walking around doing a "Siena Walk" where we follow a particular path recommended by our professor. Well we decided to eat lunch at one of the restaurants that she recommended. It was little place run by a little old man and his wife. They gave us a huge discount because we (and by we I mean, Chris and Rebecca) speak really good Italian. He kept trying to give us some free wine and stuff but we managed to stop him. He was so hilarious though He leaned down to whisper something to me and he was all, "vino no, amore si." and then winked at me and Chris. It was pretty hilarious. We got a picture with him and his wife and then went on our way. Well our next stop was the music store where I GOT THE NEW COLDPLAY ALBUM!!!! I was super stoked to get this new album. It is lovely and wonderful and everyone should buy it. Any way.....Then we went to the park and hung out while Chris studied Portuguese and Rebecca drew stuff. I just took pictures hahaha.

I'm sorry I haven't actually told you guys anything, but merely posted pictures. I am sorry I could not grace you with lovely speeches and quick wit, however I will now attempt to make it up to you and tell you a little about what's been happening.

So last Sunday we can to Siena via Assisi and it was pretty fun. I LOVE Siena. Seriously. This is Paradise. Why did I ever go back to Provo?

So my family this time is fantastic. They take really good care of me and really try to make us feel like part of the family. Giorgio, our host dad, told us we could even call him Babo (like Dad basically). Anyways they are great and I love living with them. We spend anywhere between 30mins and an hour talking to them every night after dinner. I'm still not very good at Italian but it's dang better than last time. I am amazed I was able to say anything last time.

So this week we visited Pisa and Florence as well as several museums and sites in Siena itself. We've been really busy seeing all this stuff which is why I decided to stay in Siena for the day to hang out and take it easy :)

One really fun thing was that I went to a Siena soccer match this week. It was awesome.

So ….. a lot has been going on. So a brief update on goings on: On Sunday I woke up at 5am and left the Stoker's house at 6am to get to the airport. Mr. Stoker took me to the airport and then I checked in for my 8am flight. I got to Rome at noon and met up with my professoressa. We waited for some of the other students and then made our way over to the hotel/apartments. We had some time to settle in and then we went for a walk to the Spanish steps and then Cinzia (my professor) treated us to gelato. then we went back to the hotel and had dinner in the restaurant there, and then went to bed afterward.

On Monday we went to the catacombs and got to see these pretty elaborate tunnels built by the early Christians. I visited the same catacombs last time I was in Rome but it was pouring rain that day. After that we went on a walk in the neighborhood on a road called the Appian way. It is a road that was originally built around 100-300 AD by the Romans. It is still in existence and the foundation is so good that major highways were built directly on top of it in some places. After that we went to a WWII memorial. The story behind the memorial is that in 1944 there were some italians who were tired of Nazi rule in Italy and so they managed to kill 33 Nazi soldiers in Rome. When Hitler found out he said the Italians needed to be punished. So He ordered that 10 Italians would be killed for every Nazi soldier that had died. Some people were abducted off the streets others were Jewish Italians etc and they were taken to some caves just outside the city and were shot, then the caves were caved in to hide the bodies. 330 people were killed that day. Later, the caves were found and excavated and the bodies buried in a special memorial cemetery next to the caves. After these visits we were free for the rest of the day. We went exploring mostly and bought some gelato. (obviously) On Tuesday we went to a church called St. Peter in Chains. This church has the chains that Peter was held captive with during his imprisonment in Rome. It also has the tomb commissioned by the Pope to Michelangelo which has the famous Moses on it. After this we went inside the Colosseum and then toured the Forum. Afterward we were free to do as we pleased. I went with a group to find some good pizza. Afterward me and one of the guys broke off from the group and walked around the Castel d'San Angelo and the Vatican. We stopped at the hotel to get our homework and then went to the Piazza del Popolo to do our work. I started drawing and some little kids came up to watch eventually one of them asked if he could draw with me. So now my sketchbook has a very nice drawing by Riccardo of his friend Ludovica and a few other things :)

So today Shelly took me to a ruin of an abbey called Fountain Abbey. When King Henry VIII broke away from Catholicism he stripped all the wealthy churches of all their valuables and left them to rot. So Fountain Abbey was one of these churches that was ripped apart. We also went to a thrift shop to see if there was anything good, and I found a teacup and saucer I like. Well take a look below :D